First published in 1936, this is a classic account of the reign of Elizabeth Tudor during the Sixteenth Century. The book provides a comprehensive account of the political, economic, social, literary, artistic, scientific, and cultural features that made it one of the richest periods in British history. It ranges from the Religious Settlement, England's relations with France, and the succession to Catholic and Puritan challenges to the establishment, the execution of Mary Stuart, the Armada, the Irish problem, and the later years of Elizabeth’s reign. “Professor Black brought to his task the knowledge and experience of a scholar who is a specialist in the period, the balance and wisdom of a philosophical mind, and the skill of a distinguished stylist. Need one be surprised that his book is not merely a first-rate text-book but a work which any serious-minded person will read with abounding pleasure.”—Sunday Times “This volume is one of those books which are so packed with information that its value can only be discovered in use. For those about to make a serious study of a difficult and complex period of English history it should be a most useful introduction, for Professor Black has the rare virtue of being impartial, even on the most controversial topics....The best advanced text-book of the Elizabethan period that has yet been written.”—Listener “Professor Black’s book is a solid achievement of sound and accurate scholarship, whose clearness of thought and balance in judgement make it a pleasure to read.”—Oxford Magazine “A most moderate, well-balanced, and ably written work, which should form a useful corrective to the many biased and unscholarly publications associated with the period it covers.”—Glasgow Herald